1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a digital multi-functional apparatus integrating a plurality of image processing units such as a photocopier, a printer, and a facsimile machine is known. For the printer of such a digital multi-functional apparatus, employment of an electrophotographic method is commonly known in the art. Such an electrophotographic printer includes a fixing device fixing a toner image transferred and formed on a recording medium such as a sheet of paper with application of heat and pressure. Such a fixing device includes a heat mechanism such as a heater and the like, and temperature of the heating mechanism is increased to and is maintained at a certain level by a temperature control circuit and a temperature sensor. A heat process of such a heat mechanism is executed when a power source is activated or when the multi-functional apparatus is shifted from a standby state to start-up. Here, the multi-functional apparatus is not capable of executing a print process until a series of preprocesses, for example, the heat mechanism is heated to fixable temperature, is finished. However, the time needed for preprocesses is expected to be reduced from a standpoint of convenience of the apparatus or an energy saving. Japanese Un-examined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-297264 discloses a reduction of such time.
Particularly, an image forming apparatus in the document cited above only warms up an element involving a function selected by a user or a function provided with a job input, thereby realizing the energy saving.
Although such an image forming apparatus limits the function to be warmed up so as to realize the energy saving, the selected function becomes usable after a function block including plural functions to be needed is warmed up, causing a problem of prolonging the time needed for the preprocesses.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus such as a multi-functional apparatus having plural functions with enhancement of convenience and an energy saving thereof.